Demon by Body, Human by Heart
by Kranon the Deathclaw-Human
Summary: [Alternate Universe story] *The story's prologue starts after the events of DIABLO II: LORD OF DESTRUCTION and before the events of DIABLO III*. What would have happened if Leah had a brother that had the body of a demon? What if he was raised by humans? Read it in order to find out the answers for these questions.


Prologue: A Demon's Beginning Like No Other.

There was a couple of young human travelers walking in the middle of a fog of a forest near the ruined village of Tristram.  
They consisted of a man and a woman. The man appeared to be in his mid 20s, he had short black hair and a small beard. And the woman appeared to be two years younger than the man, she had long curled brown hair and a small scar on her left cheek.

The two humans were traveling together, hoping to find a new civilization and a place for them to stay.  
Until all of a sudden, they heard the cries of a baby.  
Without wasting any time, they ran to its direction.  
And when they at last found its origin, they found a small being wrapped in a blanket.  
The woman, in instinct, grabbed the being in her arms and they both checked the small infant.

To their surprise, it revealed to be a male demon baby with red skin and a small lizard-like tail.

The man turned to the woman and spoke: "That baby is a demon! Arlha, get rid of him!"  
The woman, Arlha looked to the man and said back to him: "No, Rey! I'm not going to abandon him."

The two began to argue because of the demon infant, until Arlha inquired if Rey had ever heard about the stories of angels, demons and their conflict known as The Sin War. Rey nodded in response.

Then she asked him: "Then you must have also heard about Tyrael's former lieutenant, Izual. He was once one of the greatest heroes of this world, until the demon lords had captured and corrupted him."  
Rey didn't deny it for a second: "Yes, I have heard about that too. But what's your point in all of this, Arlha?"  
The woman simply replied: "If an angel can be turned to the side of darkness, why can't a demon be turned to the side of light?"

Her response caused Rey's eyes to go wide, he had never considered that possibility.  
Rey wanted to believe in it. But he knew that if they were to bring such diabolical being with them, they not only would be putting themselves in harm's way, but also everyone else in the world.  
While on the other hand, if his wife's beliefs were to ever come true. Both humans and angels alike would be gaining a new ally like none other that would be forever remembered in history.

After thinking for a short time, Rey stated: "Alright, Arlha. I'm convinced, let's take him with us."  
Arlha smiled to her husband as she said: "Thank you, Rey. No matter what the rest of the world says, this baby will be raised as if he was our own son."  
And so, while trying to conceal the newborn demon, the human couple decided to walk south from their location and continue with their travelling in order to find a place for them to stay.

After a long walk while trying to avoid any encounters in the middle of the night, the couple came across a town that was still in construction.  
They moved in and saw people walking around everywhere from houses to traders.

On their way, a man in a soldier uniform approached them.  
"Greetings, travelers. I am Captain Daltyn of the militia, what brings you here?" the man saluted as he presented himself.  
Rey introduced them back to the captain: "I'm Rey and this my wife, Arlha. We're just looking for a place to live, if we can that is."  
"Well, as you can see, the town of New Tristram isn't finished yet." Daltyn told them. "But you can go and talk to the inn's owner, Bron. Maybe he has a place for you to stay."  
The couple nodded in gratitude and proceeded to step inside the tavern.

As soon as they got in, a male voice called them out from a long distance: "Hey! You two, come here please!"  
Rey and Arlha looked at the person behind the bar that was calling for them and went to him instantly.  
"You must be new here. Bron, at your service." stated the man of the bar. "What can I do for you?"  
"Good evening, sir. My husband and I are looking for a place to call home." replied Arlha with some decency. "Do you have one available?"

Bron got down and quickly took out a big book before putting it on the balcony.  
He started to search in the said book, until...

"Ah, here we are." Bron spoke up, pointing to something there.  
He then turned the book around to show them a map from the town, revealing the houses that were occupied and the ones that weren't yet.  
"We still have two places available: One is here, near the gate where you came in; And the other, by the wharf, in the downtown side."

Once they had inspected the two houses, the two took a minute to consider their choice.  
The house that was close to the gate had more people moving around, and with the couple taking care of an infant, there was a high possibility of making anyone curious or annoyed to go to them; While the house by the wharf was slightly bigger than the other one and had less people walking around, but they would have to walk further to go where they needed, and it wouldn't help if the road between the house and the people selling supplies ever got blocked.

"We shall take the one by the wharf." said Rey, after he and his wife came to a conclusion.  
"Very well then." answered Bron, until he gave them a key. "Here's the key to your new house. Welcome to the town of New Tristram."  
The two thanked the innkeeper and moved in to their home, while making sure to keep a safe distance from the other citizens.

After they entered, Rey looked outside by the door to see if there was anyone around. Luckily, there wasn't, and he quickly closed the door.  
Then, he went to his wife to speak with her.  
"I assure you, Arlha, we are taking a big risk by having a demon with us." he started to say. "But, even then, I am with you in this situation."  
"I'm glad to hear that." she replied to him before focusing on the newborn hellspawn in her arms. "What should we call him?"  
Rey was thinking for a moment. But before he could say a word, something was happening to the baby.

The infant started to get involved in a fiery aura, without harming himself or the woman that was holding him.  
Then, the aura shot itself from the baby to a wooden wall. But strangely enough, it wasn't burning the wood down.  
Soon, the flame began to disperse and form into nine letters.

Those letters spelled only one word, a name to be precise, before they disappearing entirely... Drethmort.

Needless to say, the human couple were quite surprised with what happened, and a little scared too.

Arlha recovered from her shock and spoke with a steady voice: "It seems we have our answer."  
"Are you certain about that, Arlha?"  
"Yes, Rey." she replied to her husband with some bravery. "For better or worse, from this day forward, our son will be named Drethmort."  
She then placed her sight upon the tiny demon as he opened his eyes, looking back to her.  
Arlha told him with a smile: "Welcome to your new family, Drethmort."

PROLOGUE ENDED

* * *

 **Author's notes: For almost a year this story has been in my head, in fact it still is - thanks to the other chapters that I still have to make.**  
 **The story from now on is going to be focused only in Drethmort.**  
 **The next chapter will take place a few years later, not sure exactly how many yet.**

 **I'm also trying to write another fan fiction for Diablo series that has a similar beginning. I chose to name it 'A Human Among Felines'.**  
 **Still, I'm not sure if I should combine both stories. I mean, allow the protagonists of each story to meet one another.**  
 **Maybe you readers can help me decide.**

 **The cover for this story was partially made by me.**  
 **I took the images from Google and customized them on Paint.**  
 **I don't know who made the original design of that demon silhouette. But, to whoever did it, good work.**  
 **I just placed a little more black in the demon's form; tried to put the same eye-color as Diablo's in Diablo 3; and even placed a small silhouette of a human male, colored in red by me, about the size of a heart. And to whoever made the original design of the said human male, same thing, good work.**

 **Hope you folks enjoyed it! Until next time!**


End file.
